First Date
by Gennai's Acolyte
Summary: A kind of "pre-Takari" between "Kyoto Dragon" and "A Very Digi Christmas" Reviews and constructive criticism appreciated, as this is my first story


Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. If I did, I'd probably be the happiest guy alive(plus, I'd have included Takari).

This story takes place sometime between "Kyoto Dragon" and "A very Digi Christmas"

TK closed the door to his apartment, removing his now soaked shoes and setting them to the side of the entrance mat before heading in further. The first snow of the year had fallen the day before, covering nearly the entire city with a white blanket. He walked over and plopped down on the couch. It was a Friday, and after a long day of school and basketball practice, he was looking forward to the weekend. _It feels so strange to not be heading to the Digital World today,_ he thought to himself,_ but with BlackWarGreymon gone, there's no real sense of urgency._ He had nearly forgotten that he and the other Digidestined weren't going to the Digital World that afternoon, having made it halfway to the computer lab before remembering that they had decided to take a well deserved break until the following Monday.

With his mother out doing research for her latest newspaper article, TK was alone in the apartment, and realized quite suddenly that he was feeling lonely. He had grown accustomed to the companionship that he shared with his friends, and had forgotten what it was like to have no one else around. TK decided to see if Matt wanted to come over. His brother was probably home by himself to, and as he didn't have band practice on Fridays, he might want to spend some time with his brother. TK pulled himself up and headed over to the kitchen. Picking up the phone, he dialed Matt's cell phone number, just in case Matt wasn't at home. After several rings, a voice suddenly answered the phone, "Hello, this is Matt."

"Hey Matt, It's TK."

"TK! How's it going, little bro? I thought you'd be off in the Digital World."

"We all decided to take a few days off. With BlackWarGreymon gone, there's really no hurry to do anything. I was just calling to see if you'd want to come over. With school and your band, we don't get to hang out much anymore."

Matt paused for a moment before replying, "Sorry, TK, but I can't come over tonight."

"Are you sure? I think I can whip up that infernal concoction that you fixed last August."

TK's reference brought a grin to Matt's face. When TK had come over for the anniversary of Myotismon's defeat, Matt had thrown together some hot sauce and wasabi, and had mixed it with some leftover rice and fish. Their faces had stayed red for almost an hour after that firestorm. "I'd love to come over, but I already have plans for tonight. I know how lonely it can get when you've got the apartment to yourself. Why don't you see if one of the others can come over?"

TK was doubtful; the others were probably focused on enjoying their time away from the chaos and danger that their trips to the Digital World presented. However, he didn't want Matt feeling guilty, so he answered, "Right, I'll do that."

"Okay, I'll see you later bro," said Matt, right before he hang up.

TK hung up the phone, and took a seat at the dining table. Matt had suggested that he call one of the others, but he didn't know how they'd react. Davis was probably playing soccer or video games, and he and TK weren't always on the best of terms either. Ken was probably studying, or he was probably back in the Digital World by himself, trying to clean up all of the control spires that he had made during his time as the Digimon Emperor. _He needs to stop torturing himself over that. He made a huge mistake, but he's certainly redeemed himself since then_. TK continued cycling through his list of friends. Yolei had hinted that she was needing to work overtime to pay for all the food she had brought the group from her family's convenience store, and he was almost certain that Cody had kendo practice. That left only one person: his best friend Kari.

As he thought about her, a strange feeling came over him, but he shrugged it off. _Maybe it's just the cold weather,_ he told himself. He and Kari had known each other since they were eight, when they went on their first adventure in the Digital World. TK had always felt a special connection to her, and had been thrilled when Tai had asked him to take care of her when he had had to leave to find medicine. After they had defeated Apocalymon, they had lost contactwith each other, meeting usually only once a year when the original eight digidestined gathered to remember their victory over Myotismon. However, he and his mom had moved to Odaiba in the spring, and he and Kari became best friends again. Things had been working out perfectly until one day in late May. Kari hadn't been looking too well, and he had seen her begin to disappear from the classroom. After class, he had gone to see what was the matter.

"Kari! I've been looking all over for you! Are you alright? What's the matter?" TK walked over to where Kari was sitting on the bench, looking decidedly miserable.

Kari didn't look up, but responded to TK's questions, "It was strange. One minute I was just sitting there in class, and everything was normal. The next thing I know, something was pulling at me, trying to take me somewhere else. I found myself surrounded by this strange beach."

TK didn't like the sound of that at all. "Who was trying to take you? Was it a digimon?"

"I don't know. They tried again when I was heading to the nurse's office." Her voice quivered, as if she were on the verge of breaking into tears, "The next time they come, I don't think I'll be able to resist them. I'm not strong enough. I'm just not strong like my brother."

Her words sparked a fire in TK, "Don't say that! Don't ever say that! You're just as strong as Tai, if not stronger! You don't always have to rely on him. Besides, I care way too much about you to let these things take you without a fight!" TK closed his mouth suddenly, realizing what he'd just said. Kari raised her head and looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion. Her look scared TK for some reason, and he backed away, "I've gotta go. Catch ya later?" He ran off, certain that she was still staring at him.

_Why did I say that to her? What did I even mean by that?_ TK was still sitting at the table, recalling the conversation. He glanced at the clock, which informed him that it was only four in the day. He knew Kari was the best friend that he'd ever had, except for possibly his brother Matt and Patamon, but something deep down told him that she was something more than a friend. He repressed the thought immediately. _How can I even think like that? Besides, Davis obviously has a thing for Kari. If I ever decided to acknowledge these feelings, I would probably just lose both of their friendships._ _Still, I need to hang out with someone and who better than my best friend?_

TK made his decision, and picked up the phone. Dialing the number, he was surprised that it only rang once before someone answered, "Hello, this is the Kamiya residence, Tai speaking."

TK breathed out, "Hey Tai, it's TK. Listen, I was wondering if Kari would want to go iceskating."

Tai grinned, "Does this mean that you're taking her on a date?"

TK blushed a deep crimson, but managed to keep his voice calm, "Of course not, I was just home by myself, and was wondering if my best friend wanted to hang out with me."

"Uh huh, yeah, sure." Tai's grin broadened, "If it's not a date, then why'd you ask me permission first instead of having me give the phone to Kari?" Before TK could let out a flustered response, Tai called out, "Kari! Someone's on the phone for you!"

Kari heard Tai yell out, and headed over to where he was holding the phone. _It had better not be Davis again,_ she thought. She liked Davis well enough as a friend, but his constant calls and flirtatious remarks really got on her nerves. She noticed that Tai was wearing a goofy grin, but she took the phone from him without asking about it. "Hello, this is Kari Kamiya, may I ask who is calling?"

TK heard Kari's voice on the phone, and he felt his knees quake slightly. He responded quickly, and tried to put his uneasiness at the back of his mind. _After all, it's just two best friends going ice skating. There's nothing wrong with that._ "Hey Kari, it's TK. I was just wondering if you'd like to go ice skating and enjoy this first snowfall of the year."

The seconds that it took for her to reply seemed like hours, "I'd love to, TK. You want to meet at the lake in the park?"

TK felt a wave of relief roll over him, "Yeah, that's the best place for skating here in Odaiba. I'll meet you at four-thirty?"

"That sounds like a good time. I'll see you there shortly." The phone hung up, and TK leaned back into the wall. _Why are you so nervous? It's not like you and Kari haven't ever hung out before. _A faint voice whispered in TK's mind, _it's different though this time, isn't it? _TK shook his head and walked into his room. There he saw Patamon snoozing on his pillow. TK's jaw dropped. How could he have been so stupid! He had been feeling lonely and had completely forgotten that Patamon was there. He had let his friend have the day off as well, since they weren't journeying to the Digital World today. _I never needed to call Kari after all, but it's too late now._ He smacked his hand onto his forehead in frustration. The noise made Patamon stir, and he opened one eye. TK sat down on the bed, "Hey Patamon, did you enjoy your day off?"

Patamon gave a yawn, "I don't remember much of it. I snuck a sandwich from the fridge, then tried making paper balls and throwing them into the trash can like you do." TK glanced over, and saw that his trash can was overflowing with paper wads. He made a mental note to set an example for his friend and stop doing that. Patamon continued, "Then I slept until you woke me up."

TK shook his head, "Sorry pal. How about I make it up to you by taking you out with me? I'm going ice skating with Kari."

Patamon's ears pricked up, "So, you finally asked her out? You know that I've heard you and Davis squabble when it comes to Kari."

TK considered denying it, but found that he couldn't. "I don't know Patamon. I honestly don't know how I feel about her. She's my best friend, and sometimes I feel something more towards her, but I can't be sure if it's either good or real. If I were to give in to my feelings, and she didn't feel the same, then it could ruin our friendship. And even if she does feel the same way, Davis would be crushed. It's a situation that I can't win." He hit his fist down on the mattress, "What do you think, Patamon?"

Patamon looked straight at TK. "You want to know what I think? Well, here goes. I think that if she's your best friend, you should tell her how you feel. If she feels the same way, you'll both be happy. If she doesn't, then she'll forgive you because she's your friend." TK stared at Patamon, amazed with his friend's simple logic. "And as for Davis," Patamon continued, "If he's a real friend, he'll understand and let it go."

TK stood up, "I'm still not fully convinced, but thanks for your advice, pal. I'm feeling a little bit better now." He walked over to his closet, "Now, where did I leave those skates…"

Kari set the phone down and walked to her room in a daze. She knew that she shouldn't be so excited, after all, TK had just asked if she wanted to go ice skating, presumably just as friends. But for some reason, she was giddy with anticipation. _Calm down Kari,_ she told herself,_ you're just friends. He's never indicated anything else. But that's not true, _another part of her thought, _remember back in May…_

Kari was miserable and terrified. She had felt herself being pulled away in the middle of class, and again in the hallways. She had fled the school building, and had sat on the bench outside, hoping that some fresh air would do her good, but instead she felt even more alone. Her head drooped, and she was staring at the ground in defeat. Suddenly, she heard a voice, "Kari! I've been looking all over for you! Are you alright? What's the matter?"

She recognized the voice as TK's. He had always been looking out for her when her brother wasn't around. She had been reluctant to tell anyone about what had been happening, but felt like TK deserved to know, "It was strange. One minute I was just sitting there in class, and everything was normal. The next thing I know, something was pulling at me, trying to take me somewhere else. I found myself surrounded by this strange beach." Her words seemed wholly inadequate to explain the depth of her terror, but she hoped that it would help TK relax a bit.

"Who was trying to take you? Was it a digimon?" TK's voice had an edge to it that Kari had never heard before.

"I don't know. They tried again when I was heading to the nurse's office." She felt like she was going to cry, but forced herself not to. This was her problem. TK shouldn't have to worry about it. For some reason she decided to continue, "The next time they come, I don't think I'll be able to resist them. I'm not strong enough. I'm just not strong like my brother."

"Don't say that! Don't ever say that! You're just as strong as Tai, if not stronger! You don't always have to rely on him. Besides, I care way too much about you to let these things take you without a fight!" TK's sudden outburst caused Kari to look up at him. _What does he mean 'he cares about me'? He couldn't mean…, no, he'd never choose me over all the other girls here. He must just mean he cares about me as a friend._ She realized that she was staring at TK, who was obviously unsettled by her look.

"I've gotta go. Catch ya later?" said TK as he took off running. Kari began staring at the ground again, _now he probably thinks that I'm crazy…"_

_After he saved me from that place I told him that I cared for him too. He probably just thinks that I meant it the same way that he did._ Kari shook herself out of her thoughts, then looked around for her ice-skates. "Whatcha looking for Kari?" asked Gatomon as she crept out from behind the bunk bed.

"I'm just trying to find my skates. TK asked if I wanted to go skating in the park to celebrate the first snowfall of the year." Kari was perfectly calm, but Gatomon knew her well enough to see through her statement.

"So, TK finally asked you on a date?" she teased. Gatomon had been able to see the subtle change in Kari's attitude towards TK over the past few months, even if no one else had. She had been there when TK had rescued Kari from the Dark Ocean, and thus had started to see how the two viewed each other.

Kari's cheeks tinged with faint red, "Don't be silly, Gatomon. He's just asking me as a friend. He's probably by himself because his mom's most likely working. If you'd like, you can come along too, as long as you don't draw attention to yourself." Kari decided to try for a jab of her own, "You might just meet up with Patamon if you come." Gatomon gave a nod, then rolled her eyes when Kari turned around. Unlike Kari and TK, she and Patamon were destined to be merely friends, very close friends, but only friends nonetheless. However, her instincts told her that Kari and TK had something special, and her hunches were rarely wrong.

"Ah Ha! There they are!" Kari held up her skates in triumph, "I need to remind Tai to get around to cleaning this closet," she muttered. The floor was covered in a huge pile of used clothing that she'd had to dig through before she could find her skates. She turned around, "So, are you coming or not Gatomon?"

Kari walked into the park and looked around. The place was rather empty, and the snow was mostly untouched. Only a few trails of footprints snaked through it, and even better, she saw only one set leading towards the pond. Following them, she arrived at the edge of the pond, which had been completely frozen over. "Hey, Kari!" yelled TK from a short distance away. "Thanks for coming!"

"No problem," replied Kari, "I was getting bored of hanging out only with Tai anyway."

"I cleared off one of the benches so that we could sit down to slip our skates on."

Kari tried to hide a smile, but couldn't. She walked over to the only bench not covered in snow, and set her backpack down. Gatomon popped her head out, "Hey TK, how's it going?"

Now it was TK's turn to grin, "I'm glad you came Gatomon, otherwise this guy might have gotten bored!"

"Hi!" yelled out Patamon as he flew over. "I was looking to see if I could spot you guys coming in."

"You guys don't have ice skates, so you can't go on the ice," TK explained, "but you can enjoy the rest of the park."

"That's fine," responded Patamon, who shot a secret wink at Gatomon, "we'll find a way to entertain ourselves."

Gatomon understood Patamon perfectly, "Yeah, we'll be fine by ourselves." She suddenly had a wicked look in her eyes, "Hey Patamon, I'll race you up the jungle gym." The two ran off, leaving TK and Kari stood awkwardly for a moment, then sat down to put his ice skates on. Despite his late start, he finished at almost the same time as Kari. He stood up, struggling to maintain his balance, then offered a hand to his friend. She took it, and they tottered toward the ice together. Once they got there, things were much easier, as they could now utilize their skates. TK skated to the center of the pond and proceeded to skate in a perfect circle over and over again.

"Quite impressive," shouted Kari, "but try to top this!" She skated once around TK's circle, then veered off, forming a figure eight out of the original circle.

"Showoff!" shouted TK playfully. "I'll race you around the pond!" he challenged.

"You're on!" yelled Kari as she accepted the challenge. The two moved to the outside edge and then took off.

"No fair! You cheated!" cried Patamon. He and Gatomon had raced up the jungle gym, and he had nearly reached the top, as he could simply fly there. Then, Gatomon had pretended to slip and fall, causing Patamon to come to her aid. However, Gatomon simply caught a bar with her tail, and swung herself to the top.

"I didn't cheat; I simply used the tools available to me. Besides, how can it be cheating if nothing says that I couldn't do that?" countered Gatomon.

Patamon was about to reply about the ethics of her trick, but over her shoulder, he saw TK and Kari racing around the lake. "Look," he said, "I think my plan's working."

"Whaddya mean your plan? I've been working at this too you know," said an outraged Gatomon.

"Don't get your whiskers tied in a knot. Let's go take a closer look." The two snuck over, and peered out from behind a bush. TK was slightly ahead of Kari, who suddenly slipped and fell on the ice. Seeing this, TK instantly turned around and headed back to her. He gave her a hand to help her up, and she used the grabbed hand as a springboard to propel herself past TK. Patamon's jaw dropped, "No way!"

"She learned from the best, didn't she?" Gatomon teased.

"Looks like I win TK!" gloated Kari. TK gave a disarming smile, seeming to accept his defeat with class, but he suddenly stooped over, stood back up, and let a snowball fly off at Kari. It struck her on the shoulder, and she stared for a moment with a shocked look on her face. She quickly recovered though, and dove to the side to make her own snowballs. Pretty soon the air was filled with snowballs flying in every direction. Suddenly, TK spotted additional movement from the nearby path. He signaled Kari to drop down, and she did so, despite not knowing why TK wanted to hide. TK crawled over to some nearby bushes, with Kari following close behind.

The two looked over the top of the bushes, and saw Matt and Sora strolling down the park path with their fingers interlocked. They seemed to be talking about something, but they couldn't hear their exact words. TK grinned _I guess that's what Matt's 'Big Plans' were,_ he thought_._ Kari was shocked; she had never thought that Matt and Sora were anything but friends. She knew that Tai still had a crush on Sora, and she briefly considered letting him know about this. The idea was dismissed immediately: she knew that it would hurt Tai deeply, and she couldn't bear to wound her brother in that way.

The apparent couple continued along the path for a short way, before Matt stopped suddenly, almost right in front of where TK and Kari were hiding. TK dropped down so that he was fully hidden, and Kari followed his example. The two friends sat silently as Matt began to speak, "So, Sora, my band's having a Christmas concert one the twenty-fourth. I was wondering of you would want to, uh, you know…"

Sora interrupted him, "Of course I'll come to your concert, but aren't you going to invite the others as well?"

Matt stammered out a reply, "Of, of course, but I wanted to ask you first because…"

Sora cut him off again, "I know." TK couldn't see anything from behind the shrubs, but he got the feeling that Matt and Sora had just shared a kiss. The sound of footsteps informed TK that the two were leaving, but he waited for almost two minutes before finally standing back up.

"Hey TK, did you know that your brother was dating Sora?" asked Kari as she got to her feet.

"I had no idea, although when I called Matt earlier he did mention that he already had plans for this afternoon." An idea popped into his head, and considering the circumstances it would seem innocent enough. Wearing a playful smile, TK spoke, "Those two lovebirds are making me feel romantic. Want to dance on the ice?"

Kari was quite surprised, although she was certain that TK was just wanting to play around. _That is so like TK. He always tries to be so lighthearted._ She gave a cautious nod, then grabbed her friend's hand as they both stumbled back to the pond. Skating to the center, TK grasped her hands and gently spun her in a circle around him. Suddenly, TK slipped and fell, bringing Kari down next to him. The two stared at each other for a moment, then began laughing at their misfortune. TK helped Kari up, and they started again.

Davis walked along the sidewalk on his way to the soccer field. He was heading to meet Ken for a friendly one-on-one game of soccer. Ken's skills had decayed in the past few months due to his despair of the misery he had caused as the Digimon Emperor, and Davis was trying to get him back into the game. He was also hoping that he might actually beat Ken, and make up for his previous defeat. Davis was silently planning how he would slip past Ken to score when he looked over at the park. He saw some people out there, but he couldn't tell who they were. He continued walking, as his route took him past the park, and he was able to see who was out on the ice. There were TK and Kari, apparently dancing on the pond. _What are TK and Kari doing ice skating out here?_ A pang of jealousy struck him, and his immediate impulse was to rush over and berate TK. He saw TK and Kari slip and fall down on the ice, followed by a fit of laughter from the two. Davis's anger melted away instantly, and he felt a little bit of sadness come over him. _Those two have known each other for almost forever. I may be Kari's friend, but we could never have what she and TK have. _His sudden realization washed away the sadness as he accepted their relationship. _Good luck you guys, _he thought. He looked at his watch and resumed his trip.

TK checked his watch. _It's still pretty early. It's only five-fifteen._ Despite this, the daylight was beginning to fade, and with it the temperature began to drop. He glanced over and saw that Kari had obviously noted the colder temperature, as she was beginning to shiver even with her coat. TK thought for a moment, "Hey Kari, are you cold? I know a great place to get hot tea." Kari nodded eagerly. _A hot drink is just what I need right now, and it's even better if I get more time with TK._ They made their way back to the bench and change back into their sneakers.

"Gatomon! Patamon!" called Kari. Her sudden yell nearly caused the two to come racing out from the bushed where they had been hiding, but they managed to remain calm and come out as though they had been in another section of the park. Seeing them, Kari continued, "TK and I were going to get something to warm ourselves up. You two done playing around?" The two digimon nodded, and followed TK and Kari as they walked out of the park.

TK led them to the Aqua City shopping district, which was fortunately close to the park. He stopped in front of a small building that was nestled between a guitar shop and a bookstore."This is the place," he said. Opening the door, he motioned for Kari to head in. Gatomon and Patamon were back in their backpacks to avoid drawing attention. The building was rather small, but very neat and tidy. The walls were a cheerful yellow, and several tables were situated along the outside wall providing a view through the windows. TK led her over to one of the tables and they sat down, enjoying the warmth of the building. A waitress came over and asked what they wanted. "Two hot sweet teas," he said, and then, remembering Gatomon and Patamon, he added, "and two mugs of hot chocolate." The waitress left, and the two sat in silence for a moment, just enjoying each other's company.

Finally, Kari decided to start a conversation, "Where did you find this place TK? I would never have noticed it if you hadn't led me here."

"Matt got his guitar from that place next door. I wasn't particularly interested in looking with him, and I just happened to look in here." TK was frantically trying to think of something else to say, but he was saved by the timely arrival of their drinks. He handed their waitress the money, and told her to keep the change as a tip. He picked up the bottle of honey on the table and stirred some into the tea. Kari did likewise, and TK almost forgot about the digimon. Patamon and Gatomon popped out of their respective packs, and Kari and TK slid the mugs of hot chocolate over to them. Patamon tried to slurp some out, but he spluttered and almost knocked the mug off. "Careful bud, it's hot."

Gatomon took a cautious sip, but then spotted several packets of creamer. She snatched up three of them and proceeded to pour them into her drink. "Gatomon, those are supposed to be for coffee," chastised Kari. Meanwhile, the tea had cooled, and Kari took a sip. Her eyes lit up in delight, "This is delicious!"

TK smiled, "Yeah, I think that this place might have the best sweet tea in Odaiba." He began to drink his own beverage, but had to struggle not to laugh as he watched Patamon. Having let it cool, he had found that he liked the hot chocolate, and had drank more than half of the mug's contents. However, he was finding it difficult to get the rest, as he had no way of tilting the mug to bring the drink closer. TK saw the forlorn look on his friend's face, and he reached over and grabbed a straw. Sticking it in the mug, he motioned for Patamon to sip out of it. Patamon was a little confused, but gave it a try. He was surprised when the liquid came up through the straw, but quickly returned to gulping it down.

The four friends left the restaurant, with the digimon back in their backpacks. By now, it was around six-o-clock, and they figured that they should be heading home. TK and Kari walked along the sidewalk until they reached the spot where their paths diverged. TK turned to Kari, "Kari, I, uh, want to thank you for hanging out with me this afternoon."

Kari smiled, "TK, you're my best friend. Why wouldn't I want to spend time with you? I did have a great time though."

Her comments relaxed TK greatly. He gave a look upwards, and he paled visibly. Above them was a sight that was both beautiful and terrible to him. On the branch above them was growing a pale green swath of mistletoe. Kari noticed TK's reaction, "TK, what's wrong?" She looked upwards and saw what had sparked his reaction, "Oh!" she exclaimed. TK shifted his feet for a moment, then slowly leaned over. Their kiss lasted only for an instant, then the two turned away from each other, both of them blushing profusely.

TK was the first to break the awkward silence, "Well, I guess I'll see you in a few days, right?" Kari nodded. He wanted to take off running as fast as he could, but he forced himself to stay for just a bit longer, "Kari, I want you to know that you're my best friend, and that there's no one else I'd rather spend my time with."

Kari looked at him and gave him a warm smile. "I know," she said softly. And with that, the two friends turned and walked away in perfect contentment.


End file.
